TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

[jack black]

This is what I read on Model T forum:

His experience is that Sta-Bil will, if the carb dries out of gasoline in, say, six months, leave a hard varnish/goo that necessitates disassembly and cleaning of the carb before use.

As an alternative, he uses a shot of 2-cycle oil in the gas tank before storage ? apparently it too stabilizes the fuel and if said fuel should evaporate from the carb over time, the oil residue left behind will readily mix with the gas once the fuel shutoff valve is opened up.

http://www.mtfca.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?tpc=118802&post=278496

I'm intrigued as I experienced problems staring my boat after prolonged storage (due to dry bowl) despite using Stabil religiously. After 9 years the carb looked like this:

My experiments with Stabil do show that Stabil can evaporate completely leaving a solid film behind:

Now, this is a 4 cycle engine, but I'm thinking about using 1:200-1:500 TWC3 oil from now on.

So, my question for the 2-cycle outboard forum is if anyone noticed problems when gas with TWC3, but without other stabilizers, dries in a carb during storage?

Thanks!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

never heard that but here's where it doesn't make sense (in a 2 stroke)--all the gas by the time it hits the carb has oil in it.

 

[robert graham]

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

Maybe consider draining(if it has a drain plug) your carb's float bowl a few times per year, especially at lengthy lay-ups. I don't know about the TC-W3 oil in the gas trick, but if it works, then go for it. I use Stabil all the time in everything and the float bowl in my Snapper riding mower was totally rusted/gunked up after about a year of sitting....seems there's not many magic bullets for fuel issues! Good Luck!

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

Try the same experiment with 2 stroke TWC3 oil and see what the results are. That should give you your answer. If you think about it, the bowls should never dry out but let something like a bad primer bulb get involved and they will get sucked dry. This is where the "Should I run it dry before storage" controversy comes in. I say no and have never had a problem but your example is good evidence that it might be a wise choice.

 

[jack black]

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

If you think about it, the bowls should never dry out but let something like a bad primer bulb get involved and they will get sucked dry.

It's my understanding gas evaporates through bowl vent that is freely open to the flame arrester.

I'm doing a similar experiment in glass jars with all kinds of additives now.

 

[jack black]

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

Maybe consider draining(if it has a drain plug) your carb's float bowl a few times per year, especially at lengthy lay-ups.

Sadly, there is no drain plug in that carb. I guess I could try to make one with a self tapping screw, but It may not work that well.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

Try the same experiment with 2 stroke TWC3 oil and see what the results are. That should give you your answer. If you think about it, the bowls should never dry out but let something like a bad primer bulb get involved and they will get sucked dry. This is where the "Should I run it dry before storage" controversy comes in. I say no and have never had a problem but your example is good evidence that it might be a wise choice.

A bad primer bulb cannot suck a carb float bowl dry because the INLET to the carb is at the top. Therefore nothing can suck the carb dry through that port. A porous casting can/

 

[Philster]

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

I've always considered two-stroke oil to be a stabilizer/treatment over the years, but researching my current 300XS, I learned the answer is, "Maybe not".

Most better two-stroke oils make no mention of it, but the type used in mowers, chainsaws, etc do advertise the stabilizing properties. Most newer, quality marine two-stroke oils are never going to be premixed. The other tpyes marketed to homeowners with mowers, weedwackers, chainsaws, etc, well... their oil is likely to be premixed and contain stabilizers.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

Here is the answer that you wanted: TCW-3 oil used at the higher levels in outboards (50-1) CAN form a varnish in the carb bowl if left for an extended period of time. However, even if all gas evaporates, just wintering is not a long enough time to varnish-- and that is first hand experience.

As to whether or not it has stabilizing properties, I would not know. I never use gas stabilizers and my engines don't care, so neither do I.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

A thing to remember with a fuel/oil mixture...the fuel will evaporate but the oil will not thus leaving behind a gum,varnish, goo or what else you want to call it..

 

[Texasmark]

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

I never investigated it, but every time I use my boat I have to pump up my bulb, unless I use it every day. Even for as little as a week, I have to pump some. I installed a clear fuel line and new Quicksilver bulb recently and can now watch the fuel work it's way back into the tank as the boat sits. It starts out with solid fuel throughout the line and over time bubbles develop and the longer it sits the larger they are indicating to me that the fuel is siphoning back. I did what I did as I had the grey silicone Quicksilver fuel line and it got all gungied up with some kind of tan scale which packed especially at the entrance to the bulb. Investigation revealed it was coming from the line, not the tank. I can now monitor it and there is no scale with my current fuel line.

Sooooo I think my bowl goes empty and therefore have no residue. I know where the fuel inlet is on the carb and from a physics analogy, don't understand the process, but what I see and have to do is what I see and have to do. Not going to tear into my engine just to find out. My engine is a '02 vintage which I bought in '04 and PO nor myself have ever been into the carbs. My Avatar is my 17' boat (wake) and my 90 merc running in the 5600-5800 rpm area at just under 50 GPS. I use TCW3 semi-syn from Pennzoil or Merc high perf and about 1 oz per gal of Sea Foam regularly. I have cleaned up old 2 cycle engines on weed eaters, tillers, and chain saws just to prove a point by just using Sea Foam in addition to the regular 50:1 oil mix and it does clean things up. In the instances of the weed eater and chain saw, I had already bought new thinking the old were dead and gone just to reincarnate them to see if SF did anything but cost money. Ha! To each his own.

Mark

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

I'll be the first to admit I know little about carbs but it seems to me that tilting the engine may have some effect on how the carbs and fuel pasth drains, and where something might get left behind. Generally/usually a trailer boat OB is stored down but travels up, a moored boat is stored up; a lift boat is stored down and seldom tilted.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: TWC3 oil works as gas stabilizer during long term storage?

I'll be the first to admit I know little about carbs but it seems to me that tilting the engine may have some effect on how the carbs and fuel pasth drains, and where something might get left behind. Generally/usually a trailer boat OB is stored down but travels up, a moored boat is stored up; a lift boat is stored down and seldom tilted.

Mine is in my shop with the engine vertical. As I said, can't explain the physics, and I made my living with the subject, but the gas gets out of there somehow, otherwise I wouldn't have to pump it up every time I wanted to use the boat.

Mark